I can't believe it has been almost three! years since my last update. I kept thinking I'd get around to doing a new post soon but that time never came, and before I knew it, three years had flown by. I am as passionate and picky about my food as ever. I have explored numerous restaurants around town and even outside town since the last time I posted here. Unfortunately, they have not been chronicled as I would've liked, and there were some unique experiences that I am now having a hard time recalling, but I'll try my best to pick up where I left off.
Ever since UAE became host to several group-discount sites in 2010, I have gone jet skiing, rode camels, beach buggies and went dune bashing while on a desert safari and just returned from a dhow dinner cruise all the way in Dubai. The group-discount sites have also opened up a world of (discounted) eating options. While most of the places featured are affordable anyway, I think it is the smarter option to pay half the bill amount with a simple online purchase.
Eric Kayser is one of several European style cafes that have popped up in the past few years. I was having second thoughts about trying out this cafe, but their promise of wood fire pizza tipped my decision in their favor. The cafe is located in Abu Dhabi Mall, just beside the more popular Mugg & Bean franchise. Soon after placing our order, we were given complementary bread bites with zaatar and labneh dips (sadly, not pictured). That was a little unexpected given the theme and feel of the place, but it was a tangy, light opening to our lunch.
The items I picked were the ones that appealed to me in the featured pictures in their menu. I can be a visual person when it comes to food, and although AED 40+ for a salad seemed a little hefty, I could not get the thought the Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimps (AED 29+15) out of my mind. It arrived looking extremely inviting. The shrimps were perfectly grilled and ample (although my friend who later visited the outlet and ordered the same salad based on my recommendation complained about the few, scattered pieces of shrimp tossed in), the parmigiano-reggiano shavings was sharp (and generous - most places are careful with how much of that cheese they incorporate into their salads as its price is on the steep side in this part of the world) and the Caesar dressing tangy. The portion size was also generous and more than enough for two. I was pretty full by the time the mains and side order arrived , but the light nature of the salad allowed me tuck into them anyway.
For mains, I had ordered the Rucula and Bresaola Pizza (AED 48) and EK Club Sandwich (AED 39), with a side order of Sauteed Potatoes with Garlic and Coriander (AED 16). It may have been the lack of proper seasoning, but I found the much touted wood fire pizza rather boring. The club sandwich was also not much to write home about and nothing about it stood out. The accompanying fries like the store-bought frozen variety when most places of EK's projected standard make their own fresh fries. The side order was also forgettable. For drinks we had opted for Lemon Iced Tea (AED 15) and Fresh Watermelon Juice (AED 18). The iced tea could easily pass for Lipton's canned version which I am very fond of, and I was a little disappointed that they had again not gone through the effort of making their own.
A little word on the service - once our order had been taken, the servers were very hard to get hold of. We had to wait atleast 5-10 minutes before we got someone's attention to fetch our bill. Once we did receive the bill and presented our voucher for redemption, the server applied it to the wrong table and we had to wait a further 10 minutes before he returned with the right pending balance, which I paid after walking up to the cash register myself since no one was coming to collect it after a further 5 minute wait. For a restaurant that isn't too busy, this level of service was disappointing.
Would I go back? Probably not to dine in, but to takeaway a bowl of that lovely salad.
The items I picked were the ones that appealed to me in the featured pictures in their menu. I can be a visual person when it comes to food, and although AED 40+ for a salad seemed a little hefty, I could not get the thought the Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimps (AED 29+15) out of my mind. It arrived looking extremely inviting. The shrimps were perfectly grilled and ample (although my friend who later visited the outlet and ordered the same salad based on my recommendation complained about the few, scattered pieces of shrimp tossed in), the parmigiano-reggiano shavings was sharp (and generous - most places are careful with how much of that cheese they incorporate into their salads as its price is on the steep side in this part of the world) and the Caesar dressing tangy. The portion size was also generous and more than enough for two. I was pretty full by the time the mains and side order arrived , but the light nature of the salad allowed me tuck into them anyway.
Would I go back? Probably not to dine in, but to takeaway a bowl of that lovely salad.
